Underplayed Story of the Day: Acne Could Make You Uninsurable

Bunions, too. As David Hilzenrath explains in today’s Washington Post:

A proposal to make preexisting health conditions irrelevant in the sale of insurance policies could help not just the seriously ill but also people who might consider themselves healthy, documents released Friday by a California-based advocacy group illustrate.

Health insurers have issued guidelines saying they could deny coverage to people suffering from such conditions as acne, hemorrhoids and bunions.

One big insurer refused to issue individual policies to police officers and firefighters, along with people in other hazardous occupations.

Some treated pregnancy or the intention to adopt as a reason for rejection.

You can read the fuller Consumer Watchdog report, and the underlying documents here.